Changes
by Gethsemane
Summary: James reflects on the past few years and makes a decision.
1. Sleepless

Changes

Author's Note: I'm giving this a rating of PG-13 for some implied adult situations. The Team Rocket Motto I use is a more accurate translation of the Japanese. This is six years after the series. J & J are 23. Ash and Misty are 16.   
** I do not own Team Rocket, or anything else Pokemon. I'm just borrowing them for a bit, but I'm not getting any money from this.

  
  
  


**CHAPTER ONE: SLEEPLESS**

  


James rolled over onto his stomach and pulled the pillow over his head. They had arrived in Celedon City rather late and, as they had no money and wanted to sleep in real beds, they had gone to the PokeCenter. They took off their Rocket jackets to avoid confrontation and turned in Arbok and Wheezing at the desk for rejuvenation. Meowth elected to go to the room with them and was curled up on the couch. Jessie was exhausted and had gone to sleep rather quickly. Lucky her. She wasn't subject to the commotion going on in the room next door.   
James reflected on the day's work as he tried to ignore the moans coming through the wall. They had had a nice, simple plan and it had worked, too! Meowth had jumped out in front of the twerps and launched into a long soliloquy from Hamlet. (Meowth had developed a taste for Shakespeare about a year ago). The twerps just stared at him, dumbstruck. They were beginning to nod off and pikachu was already snoring. Jessie had thrown a pokeball at pickachu and it caught him. She ran over and grabbed the ball.   
"Yes!" she cried. James ran over as well.   
"Hot damn! Finally!" He yelled. This got the twerps' attention.   
"Huh? Wha?" said Ash, as Meowth ran over to Jessie and James. The couple smiled at the kids. 

"If you want to know who we are" Jessie began. 

"Listen up kids!" added James. 

"To guard against universal destruction!" 

"To keep universal peace!" 

"We carry out an evil of Truth and Love!" 

"We are the loving and charming villains!" 

"Jessie!" 

"James!" 

"Team Rocket will travel to the stars at the speed of light!" 

"Surrender now or prepare to fight!" 

"Meowth! That's Right!" 

"Oh, no! Where's Pikachu?!" Ash yelled.   
"Ha! Ha! Wha-" Said Jes, looking down at the pokeball.   
"What's wrong?" said Meowth. Jessie's hands were shaking...no actually it was the pokeball. It began to to spark and emit a low whine.   
>aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa 

"What's it doin'?" said Meowth. The "aaaa" noise grew louder.   
"Oh," said Jessie.   
"Sh--" James started.   
>chuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!! 

The ball exploded and sent the trio "blasting off again". 

James sighed as they were flying through the air. He was so tired of this. He reached the zenith of his flight and began to fall. Jess had already pulled her ripcord and had ahold of Meowth. Mondo had given them parachutes not long after the "blasting off" crap had started. The first time they had landed in a slop of mucks. It was nasty, but at least it didn't hurt. The second time they had landed in a lake. James had spent a horrible ten minutes performing CPR on Jessie, hoping that he was doing it correctly. It's all well and good to do it in training, but when you're out on the field and your partner is turning blue it is very scary. When she finally came to, James fainted. That night Mondo gave them parachutes.   
James pressed the button on his belt. It sunk in way to quickly. The parachute did not open.   
"Oh, Great!" thought James. He looked down and did not see any large bodies of water. He looked up at Jessie and Meowth. They realized the problem and watched in horror. James then noticed something else. A flock of pidgys heading straight at Jessie.   
"Oh, God! Please don't..." Too late. The birds got caught up in the parachute and it lost its air and began to plummet. James saw that he was falling toward a bunch of pine trees. He reached out and grabbed for whatever he could reach. He caught hold of the branches and tried to get a grip as he slid down. Pine needles stuck him everywhere and the branches ripped through his gloves. He was half-way to the ground before he stopped. He reached out and caught hold of Jessie as she came falling by. The impact caused him to slide the rest of the way down the tree, tearing his hand to shreds. They still hit the ground rather hard. Meowth moaned. James sat up and every joint in his body popped. Jessie did not move. After a while James became concerned.   
"Jess? You ok?" Jessie did not answer. James limped over to her as fast as he could.   
"Jessica!" He dropped beside her and saw that she was shaking. He let out the breath that he'd been holding and pulled her into his arms to check her. She had tears streaming down her face. She buried herself into his chest.   
"Oh, James! When is it going to end?" She continued to sob as James stroked her hair. Jessie didn't deserve this. No one did. He decided then and there that they'd go to the next town and get a shower and sleep in a bed instead of setting up camp. 

So, here he was, tossing and turning and listening to the people in the next room get it on. He flipped over again and sat up.   
"Get a friggin' room!" he yelled.   
"Uh, James...they are in a room." Jessie said.   
"No, they are in a pokecenter...with thin walls. Sorry to wake you."   
"That's okay. Try to get some sleep."   
"Yeah, with all the commotion next door, it's kinda hard." James said. Meowth snickered from across the room.   
"TO FALL ASLEEP! Sheesh. Pervert." James groaned, throwing a pillow at the cat.   
The couple next door chose that moment to be particularly loud.   
"That's it!" James groaned, " I'm going to get a soda. Do you want one?"   
"Nuh-uh" said Jessie.   
"I'll take a Poke-cola." said Meowth.   
James walked to the front of the pokecenter. He got two colas from the machine and piddled around the magazine rack.   
"Can I help you?" said Nurse Joy.   
"Huh? No. Just..uh stretching my legs." James replied.   
"Having problems sleeping? I have some tea..."   
"No, no. That's okay. I'm hoping the people next door will be done when I get back..."James mumbled.   
"Excuse me? Is there a problem?"   
"Nah, the people in the room next door are just going at it like a pair of nidorans."   
James walked back to his room leaving a red-faced Joy in the lobby. He rounded the corner and his eyes grew wide as he saw a pissed off pikachu sitting outside his neighbors' door. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

"Jessie!"   
"What?"   
"It's the twerps!"   
"What?!" She sat up. "Where?!"   
"Next door!"   
"The noisy people?" she said.   
"Yeah, do you believe that?" James sounded really peterbed.   
"Oh, well." Jessie said, lying back down.   
"That's horrible. They are just kids. You know they wouldn't be doing that if Brock were still around!"   
"James, why are you making such a big deal out of this? One, I could care less what those brats do and two, they're not much younger than we were..."   
"Jessie, the difference between 16 and 19 is immense, mentally and emotionally. They're just kids!"   
"Sheesh, James. Get over it, Mr. Morality. Let deir parents worry." said Meowth. 

James crawled back into bed.   
"That's it," he thought. "We've been chasing these brats for six years. This ends tomorrow." 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

James woke up the next morning to the ringing of the phone. He grabbed it and looked around to make sure Jessie and Meowth were still asleep.   
"Yeah?"   
"Mr. Kojiro?"   
"Yeah."   
"This is the front desk.There is a package here for you."   
"Oh, Thanks. I'll be round to get it in a few minutes."   
"No problem, sir."   
James rolled out of bed and pulled on his pants. He walked to the lobby.   
"Mr. Kojiro? Oh, it's you! Did you get any sleep?" said Joy.   
"Yeah, finally." James said.   
"Well, here is your stuff." James took the package and thanked her. He walked back to the room. There were two new uniforms in the box, a set of keys, and a note. 

Jessie and James, 

Sorry about the mishap yesterday. I checked both of the parachutes in these suits   
and they are fine. I found all your stuff and loaded it in the jeep with a few more   
supplies. There is some medicine for your hand, James, but I still think you should   
have it checked out somewhere. Call me if you need anything else. 

Mondo 

James put his uniform on, except for his jacket and gloves, and went outside. He found the jeep and dug around, making sure everything was there. He then went in and asked Nurse Joy if she would look at his hand. She called over a chansey, who healed it some, but it was still sore. He thanked them both and went back to the room. Jess and Meowth were still asleep and he decided not to wake them. Yesterday was the worst day they'd had in a while. He had to end this assignment before it killed them.   
Back when they started, the assignment had been sort of fun. He was just a goofy kid back then. It was like a game. After Brock had left the twerp trio, and that Tracy kid joined, it wasn't really the same. Those kids just got more annoying. The boss had taken them off the case for a while, putting Butch and Cassidy in thier places. Jessie and James had been stuck out in the Safari Zone doing busy work and getting chased by police growliths. They _almost_ missed chasing the twerps. A year later they were reassigned back to pikachu. Their only condolence was that Butch and Cassidy had failed as well. Tracy had left a couple of years ago. Ash and Misty had been on their own since then. Even with only two twerps to worry about, Jessie and James had still been unable to catch that damn mouse.   
James looked at his watch. It was 7:15. He knew the twerps would be asleep. What better time to snag pikachu? He went out to the jeep and got an electricity dampening collar and a syringe of pokemon tranquilizer. He stopped by the desk and picked up Wheezing and Arbok. He also asked if they could stay an extra day because he thought Jessie might be coming down with a cold. Joy said it was ok and that if Jessie felt too bad to send her up front. He went back to the room and left Jessie a note. 

Jessie, 

Take today off and rest well. I'm going to take care of something. We have this   
room until tomarrow. I will be back this evening and I think all of our problems   
be over. 

Love,   
James 

James left the note on his pillow, with a rose, and quietly left the room. He bent down in front of Ash and Misty's door and looked at the lock. It didn't look too difficult. He was about to pick it when a thought occured to him. He tried the knob and it turned.   
"Baka kids." he thought. He slipped into the room, which was very dark. There was a faint glow on the sofa. He crept over to the pikachu and injected him. Pikachu stirred a bit, but the tranquilizer took effect quickly. James gently slid the collar around his neck. He carefully picked pikachu up and slipped out the door. He put pikachu in his backpack and left the Pokecenter. He was about an hour out of Celedon when his bag stirred.   
"Pikaaa." Pikachu moaned.   
"You'll be fine, Pikachu." James said.   
"Pika!" yelped Pikachu.   
"Yes, I caught you. Just sit there like a good pokemon.   
"Chuu!" Pikachu tried to thundershock.   
"Sorry. I'm afraid you're really caught this time. The thing is, I can't stand chasing you anymore and Jes is about to have a breakdown."   
"Pika pi." said Pikachu sadly.   
"Well, its our job. But everything ends today. I'm turning you in and quitting Team Rocket. You can thunder shock Giovanni and escape for all I care."   
"Pika."   
"Well, anyway. I doubt the boss will hurt you. I don't know what is so special about you, but at least I won't have to worry about you anymore."   
Pikachu sighed and sat back. He figured that he couldn't blame James too much. He was somewhat positive he would escape eventually. James pulled into the Rocket Gang Headquarters and grabbed pikachu.   
"Kelly, I need to see the Boss." James said to Giovanni's secretary.   
"But-"   
"Now!"   
"Okay, go on in." She sighed. 

"Purrr. Perr Perr sian."   
"Good idea, Persian, Red Kingler it is then. Let me buzz Kelly and then we'll go."   
"A-hem." said James. Giovanni looked mildly surprised.   
"Yes, James. May I help you?"   
"I came in to say, sir, that I quit. I am taking Jessica and Meowth with me."   
"Are you so certain that you speak for your colleagues as well?"   
"Sir, if we don't quit, we'll go insane." James opened his bag. "By the way, here's the damn pikachu. We're done."   
Giovanni's eyes widened.   
"Excellent. I am glad you are finally ready."   
"Ready for what? I quit remember."   
"I ask that you reconsider your decision James. Your Rocket Gang training is complete, now. You are ready to move on to the next level."   
"What are you talking about?" Giovanni smiled at James and pulled out a checkbook. He filled out a check and tore it out.   
"James, this is your and Jessica's pay for the month. It includes your bonuses for capturing the pikachu, as well as a...shall we say incentive...to stay a member of my organization. Don't look at it now. Take it and return to your collegues. Look it over, discuss it, then return to me with your decision." Giovanni put the check in an envelope, sealed it and handed it to James.   
"Come, Persian." he said and walked out of the room. 


	2. Awakenings

**Changes**

Author's Note: See Disclaimers in Part One. Thanks for all the positive reviews. I will post as soon as I can, but it will probably be a couple days between postings. This gets sort of Rocketshippy. There is a bit of a spoiler to Pokemon the Movie 2000, but you probably knew about it anyway. You might not like the direction I'm taking the Rocket Gang, but we'll see how it goes.

  


> CHAPTER TWO: AWAKENINGS

"You did WHAT?!" yelled Jessie. She was going for her mallet. James grabbed her hands.   
"So I take it you don't want to quit?" he sighed.   
"No, its not that...how could you catch pikachu and turn him in without us!"   
"Jessie, I had to do it. It had to end. It was driving us all insane. I couldn't let you get hurt again."   
"Oh, James. What will we do?"   
"We can live like normal people, I'll get a job and in a few years I'll have access to my trust fund..."   
"And Giovanni... he wasn't upset?"   
"No not really, but he does want us to stay. He gave me this." James pulled out the envelope.   
"What is it?"   
"Well, its our pay, a bonus for pikachu, and a bribe to stay with the gang. He told me to wait and open it with you. We are to discuss it and return to Giovanni with our decision." .   
" I would really like to get away from the Rocket Gang. I'm so tired." Jessie sighed   
"I know. I know."   
"Meowth! Me too. Top cat has even lost its appeal after all dis, but if yous leave it's back inta a pokeball for ol' Meowth!"   
"No. I told him I was taking you with us. He didn't say anything against it. That is, if you want to come with us, of course."   
"Meowth. I'd rather be wid yous guys dan to be top cat like dat snooty persian!" Meowth hugged his friends.   
"We'll lets look at this bribe. I guess we could consider it severance pay." James grinned as he opened the envelope and drew out the check. His jaw dropped.   
"My god!" breathed Jess.   
"Meowth!" gasped Meowth. The check itself was made out to both James and Jessie. The break-down of the check was on the side. They each received their monthly pay of $1,500.00 **($1.00 is equal to 109 yen...it is easier to use dollars) **The pikachu bonus was $3,500.00 for each. If that wasn't enough, the sign on bonus totally blew them away, it was a whopping $40,000.00!   
"Fifty Thousand Dollars!" Jessie said. "Oh my god, James!"   
"Whoa." was all James said.   
"Uh, guys." said Meowth. "We must be pretty valuable ta da boss, for him to give us dat much to stay on."   


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~   
.   
The drive toViridian City was quiet. No one really knew what to say. They had grown to hate the Rocket Gang. There was a time a few years ago when they had really wanted to be good guys. Unfortunately, being a good guy doesn't pay. They had risked their necks to help the twerp save the world. It was a really great feeling and they were so proud. They even had plans to quit the gang then. Then, they got home and reality bit them in the ass. Sure, the people that were at the island remembered what they did, but everywhere else it was a loss. The only one anyone ever remembered was the twerp. On top of that, being a good guy doesn't pay, literally. Jessie and James both did their fair share of griping about Rocket Gang pay, but it was better that working at a fast food place. They didn't have bills either. Everything was provided. They had an apartment in Viridian, four cabins at various places all over the country, and camping supplies. For a couple of nineteen year olds, there was really no better option. So, slowly, they forgot about being heroes and went back to chasing the pikachu.   
James turned his eyes sideways at Jessie as he drove. These past few years had not had a good effect on her. She still looked beautiful, but her fire was gone. James had mixed feelings about that. She cried a lot more, which upset him, but she didn't yell or scream that much anymore. She didn't hit him either. He knew that a lot of it had to do with the fact that they were getting older and that they had admitted that they loved each other. That happy bit of information came out a few weeks after that whole hero thing. There was a talk with the twerps somewhere along the lines about relationships. Jessie had said something smart-assed and James had spewed a torrent of verbal vomit that made him look like a total idiot. Jessie had given up on him for gay.   
James felt himself blushing at the thought of the situation. He was the first to admit that he'd acted rather flamboyant in his teens, but he'd never really thought of being gay. He'd loved Jessie for almost as long as he'd known her. When Jessie had confronted him about the issue a few weeks later, he'd been shocked.   
"So," she had said, casually."You know you could have told me before you blabbed it to the world."   
"Huh?" James had said, digging into his lo-mein."Told you what?"   
"That you were gay, I mean...I always suspected, a little..." Jessie said. James choked on a lo-mein noodle.   
"What?!" he said, once he could breathe again. "I.. I never...Wh..What are you talking about?"   
"You know," Jessie said, "during that sex talk, back in that Lugia mess. I mean you could have told me before. I am your partner, I wouldn't have laughed or anything. I have lots of homosexual friends." James was turning beet red.   
"Um, Jessie. I realize, looking back on it...how what I said could be construed as seeming somewhat....slightly like, uh, coming out. But, I can assure you without a shadow of a doubt, that I am most definitely not homosexual." James said, thinking of the dream he'd had the night before about Jessie.   
"Meowth thinks he doth protest too much." said Meowth as he jumped in through the window from his nightly run.   
"But guys! I'm really not gay!" James whined. He suddenly became painfully aware of how high-pitched his voice had become. What was worse, he felt himself on the verge of tears. He could see this incident as have a damper on his desired relationship with Jessie.   
"Honestly, Jessie. I only said that because that asinine comment you made pissed me off!" James said and woke up a few minutes later with a bright red fan mark across his face.   
"What the hell was that for?" James growled.   
"For calling me asinine." Jessie stated and continued to eat her rice.   
"I did not call you asinine. I said your comment was asinine!"   
"Just you act like you know what I'm talking about! You can't judge my comments that way...they're my comments! Spoken from my experience. Men are jerks!"   
"No, they aren't. Just the ones you date! What do you expect going around acting like a slut..." James said. He woke up a few hours later to an empty room.   
"Wonderful." he thought to himself "There went the last shred of a chance I ever had." James rubbed the lump on his head. He picked himself up and went to the bedroom. The door was locked.   
"Jes. Jes, I'm sorry. I didn't mean..."   
"Yes, you did James." Came Jessie's voice through the door. The lock clicked. James waited for the door to open, but it did not. He slowly opened the door and peeked around it. Jessie was curled up on her bed.   
"Listen Jes, I didn't mean it the way it sounded. I know that you aren't that way, but you put on that show and get those types of guys. Jessica, you are beautiful and intelligent. You could get any guy you want. You just need to go after the right guy."   
"And just who is the right guy, James, someone like you?" Jessie snarled.   
"Yeah, someone like me! What's wrong with me? I sure as hell wouldn't treat you like some of the trash you've dated."   
"Oh really?! So what are guys like you like?" She said. tossing her hair over her shoulder.   
"Guys like me are caring. We listen. We don't yell and we don't hit. We don't try to take advantage of you at the drop of a hat. Guys like me are lost in your eyes and in the fullness of your lips. We're enchanted by your laugh and pained by your cries. We stay up at night just to watch you sleep and sit at the foot of your bed to listen to you breathe. Guys like me spend every waking hour thinking about you and every night dreaming of you."   
"Why would a someone like you be like that?" Jessie whispered.   
"Because they love you." James said, running his fingers through his hair. 

The relationship just sort of took off from there. It was a few days before Jessie admitted that she loved James, too. Nothing changed much at all really. Aside from a goodnight kiss, a few foot massages, and cold nights spent cuddling in front of the fire, things stayed about the same. Of course, no one was told. The Gang had rules about that sort of thing. But some things could be noticed, especially in Jessie. Gradually the hitting stopped. Then the yelling. By the end of the year the relationship had gone on to the next level. James had had a very happy holiday indeed. 

"What are you smiling at?" Jessie asked.   
"Oh, nothing. I was just thinking that if we do quit the Rocket Gang...well, we could get married." James' voice gradually changed into a whisper. Jessie leaned over and kissed his cheek. They had had this discussion a couple years ago and Jessie had turned him down. Even though she loved him, she wasn't ready for marriage, or for quitting the gang at that time. And though she never told him, she was a little worried that seeing her in a wedding dress would remind him of Jezebel and she'd lose him for good.   
"I think that that would be wonderful James. It really is time." She said. James beamed.   
"Then it is settled? We quit and give up all that money?" James asked.   
"Yes. That ten thousand will be enough to get us started on our own."   
"Alright then.":   
"I get ta be best man!" Meowth piped up from the back, where Jessie and James had thought he'd been sleeping. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Jessie, James, and Meowth threw glances at each other nervously as they waited to see the the boss. They were all thinking about what would be going on in the next few minutes. Would the boss really be angry? People just didn't quit the Rocket Gang. Sure they had talked about quitting. However, when they really thought about it, they couldn't recall anyone quitting...ever. That was a little scary. They did remember a couple that was fired though. Arki and Dave. No one had ever heard from them again. That was down right horrifying.   
"The boss will see you now." Kelly said and went back to typing. The three exchanged glances. James inhaled deeply, took Jessie's hand, and walked through the door.   
"Ah, the illustrious Team Rocket of the Rocket Gang." Giovanni said. James thought his voice sounded like oil dripping down the back of his neck. "I take it that you have come to a decision."   
"Well," said Jessie, "You're offer is very tempting."   
"Dat's a lot a dough, Boss." said Meowth.   
"Yes. It is. I value my team members." Giovanni smiled.   
"Well, sir. We've decided not to take your offer. We're tired of being the bad guys. We want to live a normal life and well...Jessie and I have had a relationship for a few years now and we want to get married." James suddenly felt like he was asking permission from Giovanni to marry Jessie. "There's a lot of reasons. Overall, we have just decided we want out." Giovanni smiled, which made all three of them very nervous.   
"Well. I am sorry you feel that way. I can give you $10,000 as severance pay. I will also help you find jobs and a place to live." Jessie and James looked at each other. They were shocked. "I do ask, however, that you listen to me for a while."   
The trio nodded blankly, unsure of what was coming next.   
"I am a greedy man." Giovanni started. "I prefer the term ambitious. You see, I want a piece of everything. I care nothing for training pokemon, yet I have my gym. Gyms are the thing to have, you see, for status. As you know, I have a penchant for rare pokemon. Not just rare types, mind you. I am also interested in common types that are unique. I collect pokemon. I have almost all of the ones known to man. These are my own personal pokemon. I don't battle them. They are my pets, like Persian." Meowth bristled, but realized then that the persian was not there.   
"It is true that I founded the Rocket Gang for selfish purposes. It's true also that this organization represents "the bad guys" in this world of ours. But what you know of the Rocket Gang is only a minute detail in a huge painting. Have you ever stopped to wonder why I recruit children? Do you know anyone in the gang that is over twenty-five?" James thought about this. Surely, there were people older than that. There were older people in the gang when he and Jessie joined, but he never saw them. Come to think of it, they hadn't seen Butch and Cassidy for a little over a year, not that they saw a lot of them anyway.   
"Think of it as my service to the community. I take kids off the street. I take rebellious kids. I put them to work for me, with a steady paycheck."   
"What a service!" interrupted James. "You teach them to steal."   
"That's true. Though think of this. How many times do you members actually get away with anything? Who actually gets hurt?" James thought about all their personal failures. He thought about all the foiled plots and schemes. The boss was right no body hardly ever got away with stealing pokemon. The pokemon were almost always returned to their owners.   
"Don't think that I haven't got any pokemon out of this deal. I did. In the beginning. I would say the success rate is about five percent as of late."   
"Den why do it? What's de point?" said Meowth.   
"Exactly." smiled Giovanni. "Why run a failure crime gang. The point, dear Meowth, is that I learned early on that the best way to produce loyal employees is to raise them yourself. You cannot deny that I treat you right. I give you what you require to live and I pay you. The situation is good, so you do what you are told. I hand pick my teams and I put them on assignments that I know are difficult. Your assignment was very difficult. I waited for you for a long time, but it yielded the desired outcome."   
"And just what was that?" asked Jessie.   
"Why, my dear, you grew up. You're temper is well under control now. And James has lost his silliness and gained some, excuse my language dear, balls." James blushed at this. It was all true, though.   
"You are also connected to each other. With love comes loyalty does it not? My teams are fiercely loyal to each other, which helps them to work better together. When you live, work, fight, and worry with someone everyday, love is bound to form. For many it is a love like yours, for others it is more like a sibling relationship. Still, that is why my teams are male/female."   
"If you expect us to fall in love...why is it against the rules to have a relationship with your partner." James asked.   
"Romeo and Juliet." said Meowth.   
"Exactly." smiled Giovanni. "What better way to get rebellious teens to get along and care for each other? And a love that is thought forbidden tends to for very strong bond. Of course, it is not our goal to get you to 'fall in love'. It is to form that partner bond."   
"But I still don't get it." said Jessie. "The gang is a failure. What good does all that do?"   
"I have told you, dear. The gang is just a smidgen, nothing more than an extended training program. Do you know of the Shogun Corporation?"   
"That research and technology company?" Jessie said.   
"Oh, it is much more than that. We do a lot of things. Researching rare pokemon diseases is one of them. That pikachu you were following all this time. It was from a swarm that was affected by an electrical plant. This swarm developed a power eating disease. Its power would have grown and grown until the force of its attack would have killed it. He is currently being treated in our facility. When he is cured he will be released to go back to his master, if he wishes. He will not be as powerful as he was, however."   
"Wow," said Meowth. The others nodded. They could hardly believe what they were hearing.   
"And now, I would like you to step up into the life you were prepared for. Work for me and I guarantee, you're rewards will far exceed your imaginations...even yours, James."   
  
  



	3. Dreaming

**Changes**

Author's Note: See Disclaimers in Part One. Sorry it took me so long to post this chapter. I'm a Grad Student and my time was suddenly eaten up by school, work, and fanfic reading event at Exoticon.

  


> CHAPTER THREE: DREAMING

  
James looked over his paper at his very pregnant wife watering plants on the porch. 

"Hon, do you want me to do that?" 

"No, James. If I don't keep busy I'll go insane!" Jessie rubbed her eyes and sat down on the steps. James sat behind her and put his arms around her. 

"Oh, ow! What do you have in there? A kangashkan?" James laughed as the baby kicked him. 

"Sometimes I wonder!" Jessie moaned, "I cannot believe its a week past due. I'm a blimp!" 

"You look wonderful." James said, "C'mon lets walk around the block, I heard somewhere that walking speeds the process." 

The logic seemed to work. The contractions started later on that night. 

"James. James, are you listening to me?" 

"Yes, dear. Let me get the bag and I'll meet you in the car." James murmured. 

"What are you talking about, James?" James opened his eyes and found himself sprawled across the bed, which was covered with papers, fliers, and brochures. 

"Huh? Oh wow. I guess it was a dream..." James rubbed his eyes. 

"Dammit, I knew you weren't listening to me! We need to start making some decisions here, James." They'd been going over all their options in the Shogun Corporation. This new chapter in their lives was very complicated. 

"Where do we start?" sighed James. 

"Well, I guess we need to decide what we're going to do about the money. It seems a bit of a gyp that if we stay with the Boss we have to give up $40,000." 

"Well, we don't have to. We could always take the condo option." James said, looking at the Vaporeon View Estate brochure. "But you know, Jes, 40 K is an excellent deal for a house... especially a house like this." He threw her the floor plans that were offered to them in the Airebonne Estates. Both the condo and the subdivision were located in Argentum City, the home of the Shogun Corporation, which was also where they happened to be staying tonight, courtesy of the Boss. As new members of the Shogun Corp., they were given the option of renting a condo or using their sign-on bonus to buy a house. 

"Arrgh! This is so difficult. The house would be ours... straight up?" Jesse sighed. 

"Yup," said Meowth, "Even if we leave da corporation." 

"No, we have to stay with the corporation for 4 years before it is legally ours." said James. 

"A house would be so...stable." Jessie said, "I might die of contentment." 

"Let's just go look at them, tomorrow." James yawned, "That was easy...what next." 

"We need to study for the education survey." 

"We'll do fine. The booklet said that there isn't really a way to study, anyway." 

"Well, I guess we can't study for the proficiency test either." Jessie muttered. 

"Nope." 

"Why aren't you stressed!!!" Jessie howled. 

"Jes. Look at all these options. We are on the verge of starting a new life, but no matter what we do...it's all going to work out. We are set." James said. 

"But we don't have any skills, what are we going to do?" 

"Well, our proficiency tests will give us a start, then it's either University or Security." 

_RING RING RING...PHONE CALL...RING RING_

"Hello." Jessie said, leaving off the visuals. "Oh, hi Boss. Yes, we've been going over it. Yes, the hotel is wonderful. Tomorrow? Yes, sir. Okay, sir, thank you." 

"Well..." James and Meowth said. 

"We're taking a tour of Argentum tomorrow. We're supposed to be picked up at 10." 

"Sounds good to me," yawned James, "Let's get rid of this stuff and hit the sack." 

"That's my cue to go. See yas in da mornin'." Meowth said, jumping off the bed and closing the door behind him. Jessie cleared off the bed and crawled under the covers. 

"Don't worry, Jes." James said, taking off his shirt, "I feel better than I've felt in years. I really think that everything will be okay." He joined Jessie under the covers. Jessie rolled over and put her arms around him. 

"This is all so scary. I mean, it's like it is too good to be true....I'm just waiting for something to jump up and bite me on the ass." 

"I can do that..." 

"James!" she said, smacking him playfully on the chest. "Be serious." 

"Jessica. Stability exists. I know that it isn't something that you've ever had, but you deserve it...we deserve it...after all that we've been through. Don't worry, it is real...and even if it wasn't, I'm real and I'll be here, always." He kissed her forehead. "I love you." 

"I love you, too." Jessie hugged him and they were soon sleeping. 

********************************************************************************************** 

"Meowth! Get off my head!" Jessie groaned. 

"You are such a cat!" James snickered. 

"zzz...huh? Wha? How did I get in here? Oops, sorry Jes." Meowth hopped down. Jessie and James stretched. 

"I get the shower!" said Jessie grabbing a towel. 

"Of course." said James, "I'll get breakfast on my way back." He changed into his jogging suit. "You coming with, Meowth?" 

"Yeah, Lemme go find my headband." They were soon off. James had taken up jogging a year ago when the effects of all those donuts and riceballs had begun to show up around his midsection. 

James and Meowth returned with sausage rolls and coffee. 

At 9:59 there was a knock at the door. Jessie opened it to find two Rocket Gang members. 

"Hullo, I'm Holi. This is Doc. We are here to show you around. Can I use your bathroom." The woman with red violet hair said. 

"Uh, sure." Jessie said as Holi pushed past her and dashed toward the bathroom. 

"Sorry." said the blue violet haired guy, "We've been working all night and Holi is well, expecting. She either has to pee or puke." 

"Dat's charming." said Meowth. 

"Sorry, I've just had to deal with it for four weeks now." Doc said. James waved for him to have a seat, which he did. 

"Well, I must admit, I'm a little surprised that the boss sent Rockets to show us around." 

"Oh," said Doc looking at his shirt, "We work with the kids on the weekends... in the dog pound." The dog pound was a boot camp for the elite rockets. 

"Oh," said Jessie, "What do you do during the week?" 

"Surveillance and Covert ops. We are surveilling a pokemon daycare now that is under suspicion of abusing pokemon." 

"You're kidding. How does that benefit the boss?" 

"Well, the boss likes to have his hand in everything. We actually work for the government, but we're contracted through the boss." 

Holi came out of the bathroom in a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt. 

"Sorry. Your clothes are on the counter, babe." she said. 

"Scuse me." said Doc making his way to the bathroom. 

"Are you okay? Do you want some tea?" James asked. 

"I cannot have caffeine. Thanks, anyway. I'm sure Doc filled you in on my situation," 

"Yeah." said Jes. 

"I figured. He loves to complain. So, are you guys glad to be out of the gang?" 

"I have to say, it is a relief." said James. 

"That's the truth," Holi agreed, "We were about to go insane, but it was all worth it. We've really had a good life since we've joined the Shogun Corporation. I know what you are thinking, but it is true. There are no catches in this." 

"It's hard to believe." said James. 

"Yeah, but you'll see. Hey, are you guys getting a house? The one next to ours is empty...you'll love it. The condos are nice, but the houses give you room to grow!" Holi laughed and patted her belly. 

"Well, we had been leaning toward the house." James said, glancing at Jessie, who was blushing. 

"We're not planning on growing anytime soon!" Jessie said. 

"Good idea," Doc said, joining the party again, in plain clothes. "It might not be a good idea to spend your first semester puking." 

"Doc! Behave!" Holi laughed. 

"So, you guys ready to witness the splendor that is Argentum?" said Doc, as he lead the group out of the door.   


**Once again, sorry about spacing problems. I'm not sure where the problem is coming from. Sorry this is a short chapter. I'm just trying to post as an initiative for myself to write more.**


	4. Tucked in Nicely

Changes

Author's Note: See Disclaimers in Part One. I have been on a sabbatical, of sorts, from fanfiction. I do plan on finishing up some old debts over here in the Pokemon Dept. before sliding over to the Harry Potter Dept. for a while. I must admit to you all that I don't know what to do about this story. There probably won't be any more major action, but I'll try to end it on a comfy note. It could go on forever you know.... I cannot guarantee that I will finish it though.   
  


CHAPTER FOUR: TUCKED IN NICELY

"Guys, I need to sit down," sighed Holi slumping into the seat of a cement picnic table. Jessie and James were more than happy to join her. 

"I'll go get us some lemonade," Doc said and headed for the Student Union. After a quiet driving tour of Argentum City, Doc and Holiday had brought Jessie and James to the Argentum University to have a look around. 

"This place is great," James said. They had just left the English and Humanities Department. James had fallen in love with academia. The faculty advisor for incoming freshman, Dr. Thoule, was a short man with unkept hair and glasses. He walked them through the halls, explaining some classes and bragging about other professors. The head of the Creative Writing Program, Dr. Debell and the head of the Tech Writing Program, Dr. Yawser spoke with them in the faculty lounge. James felt a great sense of belonging. 

"So," said Jessie, "How far along are you?" 

"Oh, a little past three months. I'm not fond of this stage, but I've been told it gets better. So what about you two? You're not hitched yet?" 

"We haven't set a date," Jessie said. 

"Soon," James said quickly, feeling a little defensive. "After we get settled in and everything." Jessie glanced over at him and smiled. Doc returned with a tray of lemonade and sat down. 

"So, what do you think? Nice campus, eh?" he said. 

"Yes. That tech writing program sounds really cool," James said. 

"It is nice," Jessie agreed, " but I never was too wonderful in school, though I would like to resume my nursing education." 

"The Nursing program here is really good," Holi said with a grin. "This is great! Now you don't have to fool with those silly proficiency tests!" 

"Really? You can just pick what you want to do?" Jessie gasped. 

"Of course. A lot of people take the test because they just don't have a clue what to do. If you've studied nursing before, I doubt you'll even have to take the education survey, Jess," Doc said. 

"That's cool. It's one less thing..."James said. 

"Let's go home before we head off to the Shogun Corporation Tower. That way you can check out the house next door," Holi said. Everyone agreed. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Jess stood in front of the empty house with her mouth hanging open. 

"My God, it's huge!" she said. 

"Bet you hear that all the time, eh?" Doc said, punching James playfully in the arm. 

"Doc!" Holi growled. James just laughed. 

"James. The house. Definitely the house." James grinned. He figured she would melt at the sight of it, but he had to admit that he was pleasantly surprised as well. It was a white house with green trim and a large porch. 

"Wait 'til you see the inside!" Holi said. She was almost as excited as Jessie. The women all but dragged the guys into the house. James fell in love for the second time that day. The kitchen was huge, and he had visions of cooking a large pot of baked potato soup on the smooth, shiny stove. He was jolted out of his daydream by excited screams coming from the bathroom. 

"James, we are getting this house! You can have the rest of it, just leave me the bathroom!" James laughed as he made his way to see the royal bath. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

The two couples sat on the porch of Jessie and Jame's soon to be new house. The porch had two swings, one at each end, and each couple swung lazily in the warmth of the day. 

"It's so exciting having new neighbors," Holi sighed. They watched a car pull in to the house on the other side. 

"Oh, there are the Tekashis. They'll want to meet you," Doc said, waving the new couple over, " Jessie, James, this is Brock and Kara Tekashi." 

"That's Dr. Kenji to you, bub!" Kara smirked, giving Doc a push. 

"Whatever." Doc replied. 

"Wow. Hey, Brock," James said, jumping up to shake hands with his old enemy. 

"Hey, guys! So you finally made it to Shogun? That's great!" 

"How long have you been working for Giovanni, Brock?" Jessie asked, she couldn't help but smile. 

"Oh, I've been with Karasumi for a couple years now. We met shortly after I came back from Johto." 

"Wow, the illustrious Team Rocket! I suppose you finally got that pikachu away from that brat, then?" Kara smiled. She looked like a Joy, but her hair was light pink. 

"Now dear, he is still my friend," Brock said. Kara rolled her eyes and winked at Jessie and James. 

"So are you getting this house? That will be wonderful," Kara said. 

"Yes. This is all happening so fast. I can hardley believe it," Jessie said. The others nodded. Aside from Brock, they had all been in her position before. 

Brock and Kara had come home to check on a houndour that they were keeping at their house and to get a late lunch. Kara invited everyone in for lunch, and they decided to go to the Shogun Tower together afterwards. 

The Tower proved to be a busy place. Kara, who was known in the Tower as Dr. Karasuma Kenji, showed them around the building before taking them to her bionic/cyborg research lab. Brock worked a few floors up in a breeding/cloning lab. 

"If you go into tech writing, you'll be on the third floor. If you stay in Argentum, that is." Kara explained. "The ninth floor is where our medical offices are, Jessie, but you will probably be happier at Goldlake Hospital. You are going into human nursing, right?" 

"Yes, that's what I studied before," Jessie said. 

The tour was soon complete. Jessie and James were dropped off at their hotel, and they went to bed that night quite comfortable and excited about their new life. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~   
4 months later 

James was sitting in the living room having a detailed discussion about Shakespeare with Meowth. With classes starting up in two weeks, James was trying to get into the habit of reading and discussing things. He had always enjoyed reading, and the scores on the high school equivilency test he took when he was 18 were high enough, but he was still a little nervous. His education survey was average, thankfully, but he hoped to do better than average during his first semester. Jessie had already started the nursing program and was working as a nurse's aid at the hospital.   
Meowth was just ending a tirade on the manipulativeness of Lady Macbeth when there was a knock at the door. 

"Ya expectin' anyone, Jim?" Meowth said. James shook his head. It was probably Brock or Doc coming over to chat, or maybe Holi dropping off more wedding junk. He smiled at the thought. Next week he would finally be married. He'd wanted to have the wedding right after they had moved in to their new house, but when Jessie hinted that she would like her wedding day to be on her mother's birthday, he couldn't see any reason why she shouldn't get what she wanted. They couldn't go off on a long honeymoon, with classes starting a few days after the wedding, but they could make up for that later. 

James' happy daydream drained from his head, along with all the color in his face, when he opened the door and saw his visitor. 

"What are you doing here, Jezebelle?"   
  
  
  
  


A/N Okay, so I lied about the action. Divine inspiration at the keyboard. Enjoy!   
  
  



	5. Nightmares End

Changes

CHAPTER FIVE: NIGHTMARES END

James stood frozen in the doorway. There was his betrothed fiancee standing there like a bad dream. 

"Hello, James dear." Jezebelle said with her southern drawl. The silence hung between them like thick, choking smoke. James fought the urge to slam the door shut, but he kept his hand on it just in case, not giving her more than a few inches' view of him. 

"Um. Can I help you, Jezebelle," he said, laughing mentally at his stupid question. 

"Well, we heard about you all's weddin'..." Jezebelle began. She seemed calm enough, but she was a fine little actress, and James knew that the hideous whip would be making its appearance soon. "As you can imagine, your mother and father are not as delighted as they could be." She smiled a cold smile at him. 

"Jez, please..." James stuttered. He had a fleeting thought of trying to reason with her, but the idiocrity of the idea cut him off in mid-sentence. 

"James, dear, please allow me to finish. I have decided to bring you a wedding present..." She brought her fingers to her lips and produced a high pitched whistle. 

"Oh dear god," James thought, not knowing whether to expect her goon butlers or a spray of stun spore to the face by her nasty vileplum, "things were going so well. Why now?!" 

"Meow--" James yelled before he was knocked down by an orange blur. 

"Groooowwwwlith!" 

"Growlie! Hi, boy! How???" James looked up at Jezebelle in shock. 

"James, dear, I'm tired of baby-sitting that confound animal. You have a nice house now, so I'm sure you can handle it," Jezebelle sighed. James sat up, still petting Growlie, and looked over Jezebelle. She looked a little different. Her hair was cut in a short, fashionable way. She was wearing shorts and a cropped top, nothing fancy...not her usually style. For a fleeting second, he wondered if this was an elaborate prank orchestrated by Jessie. But, no...he knew Jezebelle anywhere. 

"James, close your mouth. You look like a big old cod fish!" James let out the breath he was holding. Orders, yeah, this was Jeze. He closed his mouth. 

"Honestly, James. Don't I even get a proper "thank you"? Really..." 

"Uh, yeah. Thanks, Jez. Now if you wouldn't mind telling me what the hell..." 

"Language, James." Jezebelle snapped. "Really, James. You can't expect me to wait around forever for you to come to your senses. You've made your decision, and I'm stuck with it. Can't you accept some good will?" 

"I'd love to Jez, but coming from you?" The look on Jezebelle's eyes made him feel like a heel, but, hell, he had put up a lot from her. 

"James, I realise that my behavior in the past was a little over the top.." 

"A little?!" Jez ignored James' snort. 

"Okay, so I was not very tolerable, but your parents, well...no, it was my fault. I should have known better. James, you never met my daddy, but he was a horrible man. He was old money. By the time he came into it, our family's finances were shaky at best. Didn't bother him though, he blew it on liquor and gambling. He pushed me off on your family with the whole "keep the bloodline pure" story, but he wanted the money. I had to do what your parents wanted or...let's just say I got my talents with the whip from my daddy..." Jezebelle paused, looking a bit uncomfortable. 

"Um, Jez...I'm sorry about that, really I am. Maybe if you'd told me when we were younger, I could have helped you. But I can't do anything now. I don't care about the money. I just want Jessie" 

"I know that James. That was a kick in the butt to me, you know. After you left your parents house that time, I followed you. I saw how you looked at her. You never looked at me that way, even though we look like we could be sisters...I saw her beat the tar out of you, say horrible things to you, cheat you, and abandon you...all in one week! I just don't understand your thinking..." 

"Jessie is not like that anymore. Besides, the good times always made up for the bad. With you there were never any good times," James said in a low voice. Jezebelle looked like she'd been slapped. 

"Alright, I deserved that. I was ten years old...well, the last time we were older, but that really was your parents..." The slam of a car door silenced the conversation. James saw a small man with light brown hair and glasses coming up the walk. 

"Is everything alright? You look upset," the man said to Jezebelle. 

"Yes, Andy. I'm fine. We're almost done," she said. Andy looked over at James quickly and placed his hand on the small of Jezebelle's back. 

"Um, James, this is the other reason I am here. Like I said, I knew it was pointless to wait for you. I've, uh, left your parents. This is..." Jezebelle faltered. She looked as if she had a lot to say and didn't know where to start. Andy jumped in where he left off and stuck his hand out. 

"I'm Dr. Andrew Lloyd. I'm your fiancé's husband." The statement was short and to the point. James looked dumbfounded. 

"Really, James. I am not a monster! I am capable of being loved," Jez said. 

"Everyone is capable of being loved, Mr. Kojiro, and everyone is capable of changing. Olivia is not the same girl that you remember as a child. She is doing her best to atone for the sins of her past." Andy said. 

"I've taken to going by my middle name, dear. I want nothing to do with that past," Jez said when she saw the look of confusion on James' face.. 

James looked at the couple. They seemed happy. He still couldn't shake the feeling that this was an elaborate trap, but then again, he did know that change was possible and people were not always the way that he'd come to expect them to be. 

"Uh. Would you guys like to come inside?" he finally said, realising that they'd been in the doorway for quite a while. 

They continued their conversation in the living room, under the watchful eyes of Meowth and Growlie. James learned that Andrew was the pastor of a church in Rosewood. When Jez had left his parents and tried to go home, it did not go that well. She ran and ended up in a shelter in Rosewood, where she met him. He took her under his wing, and they fell in love. Andrew had his Doctorate in Theology, but his Masters was in Psychology. He had told her that if she were ever going to get on with her life, she would have to face the sins of her past, which lead them to James' door this bright day. 

James found that he believed them and, without all the pressures from the past, found that he got along quite well with the couple. He was just getting up to get everyone some more tea when a loud crash came from the door. Everyone looked up to see Jessie standing in the doorway, bags of groceries at her feet. As a can of peas rolled into the middle of the dining room, she moved her eyes from Jezebelle to James. 

"What the hell is this?"   
  
  
  


AN: School's out, so I will hopefully have the time to end this. The next chapter should do it, or maybe one more after that. Thanks and apologies to all those out there who have been following and waiting on this story.   
  



End file.
